How good do you think your idea sounds to someone else?

How good do you think your idea sounds to someone else?

Imagine it’s the year 2000 and you are sitting in a TV program brainstorming meeting where you are being encouraged to suggest some ideas for new and exciting TV programs; programs that will attract millions of viewers. This is the scene; there are a few guys inthe room and a couple of women.

One of the women suggests the idea of a cookery program where the participants each have to bake a cake and the best cake maker wins a plastic trophy. Another woman suggests that you encourage people from all over the country to come together and see which of them can sew the best dress “You could add tips and tricks about different types of stitching and lacework” she adds. Think about it: If you had suggested these things you would have been laughed out of the room?!

And yet here we are in 2013 and recently 2.5Million people in the UK tuned in to watch the first ‘Great British Sewing bee’ TV show. And 7.2 Million people watched a program about baking cakes, and a massive 30 Million people (half the UK population) watched a single episode of ‘Master Chef’. Whoever could have predicted this?

The old sewing machine shop in the town was just about to close its doors for the last time but wait! A last minute absurdly weird and unpredictable craze for making your own sclothes has just emerged and very soon we’ll see sewing machines shops opening across the country, replacing the old CD record stores.

So the lesson is to look deep, understand why it is that these ideas work. Try to second guess whether your idea is going to embraced as something brilliant or laughed out of court is a complete waste of time. All you need to do is to think it through and if it sounds OK to you then remind yourself that it might also sound OK to someone else. Be confident, proud and strong about your idea and most of all dare to share it. Don’t worry about the criticism, there’s no such thing as a stupid idea, just stupid people that don’t yet see it. And if no one does see it, just wait a decade or so, you never know, it might just sound good again. On the other hand…

Harley is a dynamic 'we can do this' kind of person with a successful track record of working for a wide variety of companies in all kinds of sectors. From very small family run businesses right through to giant multi-nationals. Over the last thirty five years Harley has built a reputation for inspiring those around him to rout out and tackle the core problems facing their organizations. Armed with a wide range of pragmatic tools that he has developed over the years, Harley is able to help his clients bring about long-term, sustainable solutions, while having fun at the same time.
Harley is a motivational 'people person' who is nonetheless tough on efficiency and delivery.
Apart from being well known for his highly entertaining and motivational speeches,
Harley is also a blogger and author of four books; 'The Change Manager's Handbook', 'Transition', 'Inspirational Leadership’ and ‘Making a Difference’.